Today (March 8) is International Women’s Day. As we celebrate this day, we recognize women around the world who are leading their families and communities as they pursue a full and meaningful life.

Read these inspiring stories about women who have been helped through CFCA and are returning that help:

• First female CFCA doctor graduates in Guatemala

By all accounts, Maria Cristina should not have graduated from school or successfully completed her medical degree.

She should have been one of the 60-plus percent of Guatemalan youth who drop out of school by the sixth grade.

But Maria Cristina is unique. This is even more significant given that she is a woman and a member of the indigenous population in Guatemala.

• Mom rises above trials to lead Indian community

When Farida fell into a deep depression after her husband abandoned the family, her son, Aftab, encouraged her to seek help from the CFCA mothers group.

With the support of other mothers in the program, Farida gradually recovered her self-esteem. She†learned to sew and tailor clothing through a class at the CFCA resource center.

Farida now gives back to her community. She adopted an orphaned street child, cared for him and enabled him to attend school. She runs a sewing business and is building a home for her family.

• Loving hands behind Walk2gether T-shirts

In Guatemala, spirited mothers have formed a group to improve the lives of their families ó one garment at a time.

In 2009, eight of the women officially formed a new mothers group. They called themselves ìCreaciones la BendiciÛn,î or ìBlessed Creations.î

The women borrowed $1,800 for one year from CFCA to purchase fabric and an industrial sewing machine. They have sewed more than 11,000 T-shirts for Walk2gether, CFCA President Bob Hentzen’s 8,000-mile trek through Latin America.

Share this post: